Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

The leading black shadow drew out a dagger and pounced forward!

The old accountant was old and was no match for these thugs. He was knocked to the ground in a few moves and a dagger was pressed against his throat.

"Don't... don't burn it..." The old accountant's mouth was bleeding, but his eyes were fixed on the dye vats and the newly purchased tools. "That's... everyone's... livelihood..."

"A way to survive?" The black shadow holding the knife grinned.

"Master Du said this is a dead end!"

He raised his foot and kicked hard at a brand new ceramic filter next to him that was used to purify dyes!

"Crack!" With a crisp sound, the filter shattered!

“No——!” the old accountant roared in despair.

At this moment, the tightly closed door of the dyeing workshop was suddenly thrown open! More than a dozen figures rushed in holding torches!

It was not the yamen runners, but the neighbors nearby!

There were carpenters, blacksmiths, guys from the rice shop next door, and even a few women whose spinning wheels had just been smashed!

They held kitchen knives, axes, and carrying poles in their hands, with flames of anger burning in their eyes!

"stop!"

The strong man leading the group was Zhang Tiechui, a famous upright blacksmith in the west of the city. He roared angrily.

"You lackeys of Du Zi! Do you really think we're made of clay?!"

It turned out that during the day, Du Zi's casual workers were showing off their power in Linjiang County.

After smashing several small workshops, public anger had already been aroused.

When the old accountant sneaked back to the dyeing workshop, he was seen by a neighbor. Feeling something was wrong, he immediately ran to call for help.

The shadows didn't expect so many people to suddenly appear, and they were a little panicked for a moment.

"Rebellion! How dare you disobey my order?!"

The leading black figure shouted fiercely but weakly.

"Disobeying the order?"

Zhang Tiechui spat.

"I'm fighting against you lawless beasts! You smashed my new anvil, and now you want to burn down Lao Zhao and the others' livelihoods? Brothers, let's fight them!"

The angry crowd surged forward like a flood breaking through a dam! The light of the torches danced wildly in the dyeing workshop.

It illuminated faces distorted by anger and despair.

It also illuminated the panic that flashed in the eyes of those dark shadows.

The sounds of sticks clashing, roars, and screams instantly broke the silence of the night.

The indigo dye was spilled and flowed all over the ground. In the light of the fire, it looked like spilled sticky blood.

In the chaos, no one noticed the old accountant who was pinned to the ground, his hands stained with dye and blood.

He clutched a broken piece of pottery tightly, the edges of the fragments were sharp.

Reflecting the faint yet stubborn flame in his eyes that refused to go out.

The dyeing workshop instantly fell into a vortex of chaos.

The light and shadows of the torches danced wildly on the indigo and blood-red ground.

Like the will-o'-the-wisp of hell.

Zhang Tiechui roared, swung the blacksmith's hammer, and smashed it hard at a black shadow that was rushing towards him with a knife.

The black shadow was quite agile and dodged the fatal blow by moving sideways, but the blade cut Zhang Tiechui's arm and blood immediately dyed the coarse cloth sleeve red.

"Brother Hammer!"

Ah Fu, the shop assistant at the rice shop next door, had tears in his eyes.

He picked up the carrying pole and swept it across desperately, forcing back another black shadow who wanted to launch a sneak attack.

"Fight them! Otherwise no one will survive!"

Widow Wang, whose spinning wheel had just been smashed, still had tear marks on her face.

At this moment, she was like a mother wolf protecting her cubs, holding a fire poker and stabbing it hard into the lower abdomen of a thug.

The thug bent over in pain and was immediately surrounded by several women holding kitchen knives. He fell down screaming under the swords.

But the thugs were obviously well-trained. After a brief panic, they immediately retreated into formation.

They wielded knives and sticks back to back, acting extremely ruthless.

A carpenter was stabbed in the thigh by a dagger and fell to the ground with a scream; another young blacksmith's apprentice who was rushing in front was hit on the temple by a stick and collapsed without even a groan.

"Damn it! Pay with your life!"

Zhang Tiechui looked at the fallen apprentice, who was his new apprentice, and his eyes turned completely red.

He rushed into the circle of thugs like a mad tiger, swinging a hammer, and used his shoulder to knock away a knife that was coming at him.

The hammer hit the opponent's chest with tremendous force, and the sound of broken bones was clearly audible.

The old accountant Zhao Laoquan was pressed tightly into the cold and sticky dyed blood.

His cloudy old eyes stared at the broken ceramic filter through the gaps between the chaotic human legs.

He bought it with the first loan from Tongbao Pavilion after he and the dyers saved money and lived frugally!

The sharp edges of the fragment reflected his wrinkled face and the leader of the thugs.

The most ferocious casual labor leader under Du Zi, nicknamed Black Fang with a ferocious face.

"A way to survive... That's everyone's way to survive..."

Zhao Laoquan made a hoarse sound in his throat and blood foam kept pouring out.

The thug who was holding him down got impatient and hit him hard on the back of the head with the handle of the knife. Suddenly, stars appeared in front of his eyes and the world became blurry and distant.

He seemed to be back a few days ago, when the dyers were gathered around the newly arrived filter, their rough fingers carefully touching the smooth ceramic wall.

The light in his eyes was brighter than the most expensive indigo in the dyeing factory. It was the light of hope.

"Crack!"

Another cracking sound!

Not pottery, but bones.

A neighbor's arm was broken violently, and the white bone fragments pierced through the flesh, which was a shocking sight.

The screams were heartbreaking.

Heiya kicked Ah Fu away and wiped the blood and sweat off his face, his eyes becoming even more ferocious.

"A bunch of ignorant peasants! Master Du wants you dead, so you must die! Beat them to death! Kill them all!"

Despair is like an icy poisonous snake, entangling the heart of every rebel.

They rushed in with great courage, but how could their flesh and blood resist these ruthless thugs armed with sharp blades?

His strength was draining away, people around him kept falling, and the light of the torches seemed to be dimming.

In Zhao Laoquan's blurred vision, he saw Zhang Tiechui being entangled by two thugs with his back wide open.

"Black Fang" grinned and silently stabbed Zhang Tiechui's back with the dagger in his hand!

At this critical moment.

Whoosh!

A short crossbow arrow, with a shrill sound, shot out from behind a pile of indigo cloth in the corner of the dyeing workshop! It pierced the wrist of "Black Fang" holding the knife with incredible precision!

"what!"

Heiya was caught off guard and the dagger fell out of his hand due to the severe pain. He covered his wrist and let out a shrill scream.

Everyone, whether rioters or rebellious civilians, were stunned by this sudden turn of events!

All movements came to a standstill.

Immediately afterwards, several crossbow arrows were shot out from different directions, as fast as lightning!

puff!

puff!

Two thugs who were about to swing their knives at the fallen neighbor had their shoulder blades and thighs pierced in an instant.

He fell down with a scream.

The arrow was so powerful that it almost penetrated the body!

"who?!"

The remaining thugs looked in the direction of the pile of cloth in horror, and their voices changed.

Three figures slowly stood up from behind the pile of cloth. They were wearing ordinary coarse cloth short jackets.